Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1887-03-05
THE OKEECHOBEE LANDS.
Has Florida Received Her Rights
Under the Drainage Contract?

TALLAHASSEE, FLA, Marcn r. Il Nc re-
port recently made by the commission APP
pointed TO re-eXamine the lands under
the Okeechobee drainage contract Is at
tracing considerable attention, and 1t
may be OF interest to recite an outline OF
the facts i'll the case.
The lands included in the contract
made by the trustees of the Internal I'M
provement Fund of Florida with the
Drainage Company were conveyed to the
State OF Florida by an act of Congress in
1850, known as the swamp land act. The
act provided that the proceeds of said
lands, whether by sale or direct appro-
priation in klnu, shall be applied exclu-
sively, as far as necessary, to the purpose
OF retaining said lands by means OF
leVees and drainage" The State of Flori-
da, in accepting said lands, placed the
titles ia the hands OF Board of Trustees
consisting OF the Governor, Comptroller,
Treasurer, Attorney General and Com
missioner of Lands, to execute the Con-
gresslonaI trust in securing the reclama-
ton of said lands. Under this authority,
the Board of Trustees in February, 1881,
made a contract with the OkeechoDee
Drainage Company to reclaim that vast
region of overflowed lands around the
klssimmee valley, Okeechobee lake and
the ColoOeahatchee river. That contract
pIONiueu 'IudI WueDsFeE tne Omphny
notified the trustees that certain
lands embraced in the con-
tract had been reclaimed, the
State should appoint an agent, and the
company an agent, and If they reported
as much as 200, zoo acres OF the lands re-
claimed, one-half of said reclaimed lands
should be decided to the company. In
ported that they had reclaimed
The trustees sappointed MIR. James M.
Dancy, of Putnam, to examine portion
OF said lands asserted to have been re-
claimed.
MR.. DANCY REPORTED
that large acreage had been reclaimed,
after spending the month of July in
making a close personal EXAMINATION.
The trustees, however, declined to con-
vey upon Mr.. Dancy's report, and waited
until January. 1884, in order to have the
same lands re-examined by Mr.. David
Durham, OF st. Augustine. MIR. Durham
fully confirmed MIR. Dancy's report. The
trustees still declined to deed any
lands, and waited until the wet
season, in August, when they sent the
state Engineer, II. s. Duval, President of
the Southern Society OF Engineers, who.
under instructions from the trustees, ex-
amined another portion OF the lands
ported that the work of the company had
secured the results demanded in the con-
tract.
The trustees still hesitated, and sent an
other engineer to re.eXamine MIR. Duva's
work, and his report sustained Mr..
Duval. Thus, after four examinations
by three different engineers (exclnsive of
Col o. f. Hopkins, who represented the
company and Joined in the report),
the truataaa daoIdpd that il
their duty under the contract
TO deed the lands. Accordingly, deeds
were made to the company for about l.
600, 900 acres, being their half OF the lands
reclaimed, by the unanimous vote OF the
trustees, Governor BloXham, Comptroller
General Barnes, Treasurer l.. Engle, At
torney General George =. Raney and
Commissioner of Lands P. W. White.
All these reports of the different agents
of the trustees can be found in the secre-
tary OF the trustees report, bound In the
journals of the Legislature of 1885.
IN 1885 THE LEGISLATURE
passed an act directing the Governor to
appoint a commission to re-examine said
lands. This commission first made their
examination in February ana March,
1886. and state in their report that, at that
time, of this vast region it could be safely
said that star the greater pro-
dry at this season for cultivation" The
commissioners subsequently visited this
section after very wet season, wnere,
according to Lieut.. Dorrier's report
(their own agent) 33 inches of rain had
iallen IN four months, and the valley Of
the Kissimmee and Okeechobee were over
flowed, and the canals cut by the COM
pany inadequate to take of the surplus
water except around the two Tohopekal-
iga lakes, where the commissioners re-
port about $4,000 acres permanently re-
claimed.
The commissioners report that not only
is the drainage practicable, but that the
scheme of drainage Is one Of great
magnitude and OF utmost impor-
tance to the State, and they
recommend that some arrangement be
made by which the Drainage Company
will secure to the board the faithful ap.
pication of all moneys arising from the
sale OF lands, which have been conveyed
by the trustees under the impression that
they had been reclaimed, TO the further
work required for their permanent recla-
NATION. Such an agreement, il properly
secured, will avoid the necessity for a
resort to the courts, the rights OF the
trustees will be protected, harmonious
relations with the company will be pre-
served, and the interests of the State pro-
NOTED by avoiding possible interruption
and delay in the prosecution OF the work.
The commissioners do not intimate any
improper conduct or fraud as to the
agents OF the former Board of Trustees,
but remark sit Is due TO the agents OF the
beard, on whose report the trustees have
based their conveyances to the Drainage
Company, to add that we are convinced
from our observations that the reports
submitted by them were made under a
misrepresentation Of the causes which led
to the condition OF the country at the time
their observations were made"
1t is due to all parties to state that the
different repoVs of the two sets of
engineers sent down at different periods
were based upon differences of opinion,
and it is thought that the agents first sent
down will reply to the report OF the COM
miesioners, and bring into question their
theory of hydraulics.
l. RasI